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Definition of Dramatic Irony
Dramatic irony is a plot device often used in theater, literature, film, and television to highlight the difference between a character's understanding of a given situation, and that of the... read full definition
Dramatic irony is a plot device often used in theater, literature, film, and television to highlight the difference between a character's understanding of a given... read full definition
Dramatic irony is a plot device often used in theater, literature, film, and television to highlight the difference between a... read full definition
Part 1, Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—War:
In the latter half of Part 1, Chapter 4, Sebastian and Charles abscond to Venice for the summer to visit Lord Marchmain and his mistress. During this time, the two boys live life in idle repose, spending Lord Marchmain's money and doing as they please. While recounting this time spent together, Charles recalls a comment Sebastian made about the Colleoni statue, invoking dramatic irony for the reader:
The fortnight at Venice passed quickly and sweetly—perhaps too sweetly; I was drowning in honey, stingless.
[...]
I remember Sebastian looking up at the Colleoni statue and saying, “It’s rather sad to think that whatever happens you and I can never possibly get involved in a war.”
Sequestered in Venice with all manner of creature comforts, Sebastian ignorantly asserts that it is "sad" to think that neither he nor Charles will ever be involved in war. Readers know this is not true, given that the novel starts with an older Charles commanding troops. Sebastian's comment reflects both his hedonistic innocence and his romanticized perception of wartime.
Sebastian's offhanded statement about the impossibility of future wars is naive. It is also deeply tragic—the sheer scale of human loss that occurred during World War I was unprecedented, shocking all of Europe. To imagine another such war occurring within 20 years of the first would horrify anyone, let alone a young adult who has barely spread his wings. Sebastian's comment is naive, yes; but it is also wishful thinking. He wants to return to a pre-WWI, idealized vision of wartime glory, and this leads him to overlook the horrors that come along with this supposed glory.
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